Yellowhammer Times

The health care system and COVID-19 have become more about money instead of taking care of patients, according to a hospital executive turned board chairman.

“The government has set aside a certain amount of money to reimburse hospitals, including $13,000 for each COVID admit and if that patient goes on a ventilator during the admission, they get an additional $39,000 so, coming from a strictly financial greed side, I can see where hospitals are getting everything they can to have positive COVID admissions,” said John Chamberlain, board chairman for Citizen Health, a health care cooperative that advocates for subscription-based medical services as well as price transparency. 

“That's what our health care system has become. It's focused on profits not on patients.” 

In addition to having worked as CEO of Critical Access Hospital in northeast Texas, Chamberlain is among the physicians, scientists, public health officials, economists and social scientists nationwide who have joined Restore American Communities Safely (RACS) to support reopening the economy, including work and schools.

“Physicians are being told what to do and not allowed to do what they think is best for the patient if it conflicts with the hospital so the public health aspect of COVID-19 to me is like health care itself,” Chamberlain told the Yellowhammer Times. “The control needs to be local. With COVID, we have demands coming from the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health, which they say are just guidelines but it depends on who’s running what state and what locale as to how those guidelines are interpreted.”

Chamberlain says he is in complete agreement with RACS about continuing to reopen the economy safely while monitoring coronavirus cases.

“The mainstream media is railing against Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Alabama to some degree for reopening because of this explosion in cases but that’s just clickbait and trying to put the fear of God in people,” said Chamberlain who lives in Alabama. “The reality is that in almost every one of those states, if you could trust the reporting, most of the cases are occurring in 18- to 34-year-olds and the severity of cases in that age group is almost nonexistent. So they're not going to get as sick. They're not going to be admitted to the hospital. They're not going to have all these negative connotations.”

As of July 8, there were 46,424 coronavirus cases statewide and 1,032 deaths, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

“Elementary, high school and middle school-age kids are the least impacted of all,” Chamberlain said. “It’s a terribly important time in their social development for elementary school students and to keep them at home while trying to do distance learning doesn't benefit kids. I think to not make every attempt to fully reopen the economy is a tragic mistake.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also recently advocated for reopening school buildings in an online statement:

“Schools are critical to addressing racial and social inequity...Evidence from spring 2020 school closures points to negative impacts on learning," AAP said. "Children and adolescents, also, have been placed at higher risk of morbidity and mortality from physical or sexual abuse, substance use, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school."

The AAP also issued guidance for school re-entry called COVID-19 Planning Considerations.